Driving

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by Genealogy.com

Learning to drive has become a rite of passage--when did he/she start driving? Did he/she ever have any accidents or tickets? Choose this Topic to recount his/her driving adventures.

Did he/she not drive?

Did he/she regret never driving a car? Why or why not?

Why didn't he/she ever drive a car? Was it not a popular thing to do? Was it not important to him? Was it too expensive?

Did he/she learn to drive?

How old was he/she when he/she first drove a car? Where did he/she go the first time he/she drove? Was there anyone in the car with him? How did he/she feel--scared, excited?

How did he/she learn to drive a car? Did someone teach him or did he/she teach himself? Did he/she take any courses to help him learn how to drive? Describe these experiences.

What type of car did he/she first learn to drive? Was it an automatic or standard shift? Whose car was it? A relative's? A friend's?

Did he/she have to get a driver's license? Were there any requirements he/she had to meet before he/she could apply for a driver's license? Did he/she have to complete a specific amount of training hours?

If he/she had to get a license, did he/she have to take a test? What kind of test was it--written, oral, behind the wheel? What was his/her score? Did he/she pass on his/her first try? Did he/she have to take an eye test?

How old was he/she when he/she received his/her first license? At the time, was this the legal age limit? If not, why did he/she wait to get his/her license?

On the day he/she got his/her license, how did he/she feel? Did he/she do anything special? When he/she first started driving on his/her own, without a teacher or parent, how did he/she feel? Mature? Responsible? Reckless?

What did being able to drive open up for him? What was he/she able to do that he/she couldn't do when he/she wasn't driving? Did he/she start dating at this time? Did he/she take a drive to anywhere special?

Why did he/she want or need to drive? Did his/her job require it? At the time, was it something everyone did, or was he/she part of an elite crowd? Did this change over time?

When he/she started driving regularly, whose car did he/she use? What kind of car was it? What color was it? Was he/she able to drive it whenever he/she wanted to? Did he/she have to pay for gas or upkeep?

When did he/she get his/her first car? Did he/she buy it himself or was it a gift? Describe it. What were his/her feelings about the car? Was it his/her dream car or just something to get around in?

What other cars did he/she own over the years? How many cars did he/she own at one time? What made him purchase the cars he/she did? Was it because of where they were made? Money? Looks? Brand?

What about driving changed since he/she first drove? The speed limit or seat belt laws, for example? How are cars, roads, gas, or traffic lights different?

Did he/she ever have his/her driving privileges taken away? If yes, describe the situation and how he/she handled it.

Was he/she ever in a car accident?

In his/her opinion who or what caused the accident? Did the police and insurance company agree with his/her opinion?

Was anyone injured in the accident? How seriously? Was anyone taken to the hospital? If he/she was, was he/she taken in an ambulance? What happened at the hospital?

Was any damage done to the car he/she was in? Describe it. Who paid for the damage?

Was there a lawsuit because of the accident? What was the charge? How involved did it get? Did he/she settle in or out of court? What was the outcome?

Did everyone involved have insurance? At the time was it mandatory to have insurance?

Did he/she ever receive a traffic ticket or get pulled over?

If he/she received a ticket, what was it for? Speeding or running a red light? Did he/she feel he/she deserved the ticket?

Did he/she go to court for the ticket? What was it like? Did he/she fight the ticket? What was the outcome?

Did he/she have to pay a fine for the ticket or was it just a "fix it" ticket? If he/she had to pay, how much did it cost? Was attending traffic school an option? Did he?

Do you want to write about driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs?

Did he/she ever drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs? Why did this happen? At the time was it against the law? Did he/she get caught? What happened? Did he/she do it again?

Did he/she ever try to prevent someone who was under the influence from driving? What happened? Were they angry with him? Did they thank him? Did anyone ever try to prevent him from driving while intoxicated? What happened?